Read upto 25+ advance chapters exclusively on my Patreon - www.patreon.com/Sniperwoof
------------------
Sato noticed the white mist slowly spreading over the sea around him, now sitting in his small inflatable raft. However, he wasn't too concerned. Fog over the ocean was common enough, and he was still only a short distance from the port, with Golbat serving as a mobile radar. Vermilion City also had a lighthouse, so there was no real danger of losing his way in the mist. He still hadn't met his goal for the night, and he wasn't going to give up so easily.
As the mist thickened, Golbat suddenly extended a wing, pointing in a direction. Sato followed its gaze and saw a faint yellow light to the left, growing brighter. Unsure whether it was friend or foe, Sato put away his fishing rod and waited for the source of the light to approach.
Before long, a small, special-looking sailboat came into view, carrying an elderly man with white hair and a Pelipper resting by his side.
"Young man, why are you still out here? The fog's settled in, and it's dangerous now. Come back with me," the elderly man called out urgently as he passed by Sato.
Startled by the man's words, Sato quickly had Golbat point out the direction to the port. Seeing it matched the old man's course, he wasted no time, instructing Ditto to transform into Lapras once more. He packed up the raft and headed for the port on Lapras's back.
"Sir, what's going on?" he asked the elderly man, who was busy tying his small sailboat securely to the dock with thick ropes. "Isn't fog on the ocean pretty normal?"
The man sighed, glancing at Sato with a look of concern. "You must be from out of town. It used to be normal, but things have changed in recent years. There's something out in the mist that preys on people. Luckily, you made it back by midnight; otherwise, you'd be at risk of attack."
Sato frowned, doubtful. "Some sort of monster? It's likely a kind of Pokémon, isn't it? If it's causing trouble, the League would step in, and they'd send someone to handle such a dangerous Pokémon right away."
Sato dismissed the idea of "monsters," thinking that if there was any threat, it must be a Pokémon. As a Trainer, he wasn't one to believe in such superstitions.
"They've tried," the man replied quickly, anxious that Sato might be tempted to investigate further like many young Trainers before him. "They've come at least ten times, even the previous Vermilion Gym Leader went, but no one returned. Even Lorelei, one of the current Elite Four, investigated the fog but couldn't put an end to it. So now, everyone knows not to go out fishing when the mist rolls in late at night."
Over the years, this mystery had left Vermilion City in decline. The elderly man, born and raised in Vermilion, deeply cared about his hometown and hated seeing any further trouble added to its reputation.
"I see," Sato nodded. "Thank you for the warning, sir."
Hearing that even the Elite Four couldn't handle the creature in the mist, Sato's expression grew serious, and he thanked the elderly man sincerely.
Sato wasn't entirely sure just how powerful the Elite Four were, but he knew they were far beyond his current level. If even they couldn't solve the issue, it was wise for him to back off. The old man's warning had essentially saved him from a grim fate.
The elderly man waved it off as nothing, and, having securely fastened his small yacht to the dock, he turned and headed back toward the city with his Pelipper. With the mist rolling in, the once-bustling dock area along the coast had turned eerily quiet, a stark contrast to the lively scene when Sato had first set out.
"It seems that everyone in Vermilion City knows about the creature in the mist. To avoid attacks, they all steer clear of the area by the coastal docks," Sato thought as he walked through the unusually deserted port.
Just then, Golbat, who had been resting on Sato's shoulder, suddenly opened its eyes and gently nudged him with its wing. Sato's gaze sharpened, but he stayed calm, maintaining his pace as he moved forward.
Casually, he led Ditto and Golbat away from the dock area and toward the inland parts of the city, as the mist gradually blanketed the docks along the shoreline.
Moments after Sato left, two figures in black diving suits surfaced from the ocean. Beneath them was a Sharpedo with glaring red eyes. As if sensing Sato had moved on, the two figures each pulled a glow stick from their gear and tossed it into the water.
The next second, a whirlpool formed on the water's surface near the dock without warning, rapidly expanding to a diameter of seven or eight meters.
Shortly after, a massive Tentacruel emerged from the center of the whirlpool, with another person in a black diving suit standing atop it. Rising with them was a huge wooden crate.
The two on Sharpedo nodded at the person on Tentacruel's head, who returned the nod and gave the Tentacruel a light pat. Taking the cue, Tentacruel's two ruby-like head crystals glowed red, and suddenly, whirlpools started forming across the nearby sea surface.
One by one, more Tentacruel with black-suited figures began surfacing from the whirlpools, each Tentacruel carrying a large wooden crate entangled in its many tentacles.
Each crate bore a prominent letter "R" on its surface.
Shortly afterward, more than twenty tall sailors in navy uniforms began to emerge from the fog-covered part of the dock. Leading them was a bald man in a captain's uniform.